


suspicion & quiet conversation

by ferealities



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Blink and you’ll miss it, Bonding, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Late Night Conversations, but like
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:01:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24111730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ferealities/pseuds/ferealities
Summary: She can see how he hones in on that, can almost picture the mental note he just made in his head. All she can do is smile softly as they lapse into easy silence.Lucretia is certain Angus will figure her out. It’s only a matter of time. But he’s smart, and resourceful, and useful, and although she’s not sure of the details she knows whatever home he had planetside isn’t good enough for him. So what else can she do but keep him close.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s), The Director | Lucretia & Angus McDonald
Comments: 4
Kudos: 56





	suspicion & quiet conversation

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this at midnight when I was trying to write a research paper and finished it in like 2 hours. It was like a spirit came over me.
> 
> I wasn’t really sure how to tag this.
> 
> Thanks for reading :)

It’s around 3:30 in the morning when she spots him sitting on the top tier of an empty fountain. She had made two cups of tea for this exact scenario, recalling her near nightly experiences with running into insomniatic bureau members like herself, but she hadn’t expected that member to be Angus. 

The fountain is tiered in three concentric circles, only around 7 feet tall, so it’s pretty easy to climb up and make her place across from him. She folds her legs under herself next to the edge and offers her spare cup. “Hello, Angus.”

He looks up from the fat, beat up book cradled in his lap, eyes locking on her first, then the cup outstretched to him. “Hello, Miss Director. Is that for me?”

She nods, and he wraps his hands around the styrofoam cup and sets it by his feet. “Tea always helps me sleep,” she says simply. 

“Thank you, ma’am. It smells nice.”

“It’s cinnamon. No caffeine. Just the good stuff.” There’s nothing really special in it, but she winks conspiratorially. 

Angus dog ears the page he’s on and sets the book to the side, focusing his attention on Lucretia and the tea. The light is dim, Angus’s book light being the only provider, but she still feels the heat of his gaze. 

“Don’t stop on my account.”

His eyebrows twitch together at that. “Oh no, it’s fine. It’d be rude to look away when you’re trying to talk to me, ma’am.”

Angus actually had no problem with reading and talking. It’s just an excuse for him to watch her. 

He’s a smart kid. His eyes land on her in the exact same way it landed on the book. While his expression exudes easy kindness, he still looks at her like a mystery, something to be analyzed. Like a puzzle that needs to be solved. She sees it now in the way his eyes flick down for just a second to watch her fingers tap. Looking for tells. A lot of people underestimate him, but Lucretia knows better.

His gaze is trained on her still as he brings the cup up to his lips. He takes a slow sip, and his eyes go wide. “This is really good!” 

She laughs softly, taking a drink from her own cup. “It’s a recipe from an old friend. She was much better at making it, though.” It takes her a moment to take control over herself as melancholy blooms in her chest. Reflexively, she wonders if Lup remembers how to make it now. “I must admit I never have been great at the… domestic arts.”

She can see how he hones in on that, can almost picture the mental note he just made in his head. All she can do is smile softly as they lapse into easy silence. 

Lucretia is certain Angus will figure her out. It’s only a matter of time. But he’s smart, and resourceful, and  _ useful,  _ and although she’s not sure of the details she knows whatever home he had planetside isn’t good enough for him. So what else can she do but keep him close. 

“Um. If you don’t mind me asking, ma’am, what are you doing up so late?” His eyes flick away for a split second as he asks, nerves breaking through his composure. 

A lie forms on the tip of her tongue, but she doesn’t let it free. He can see right through her. It’s a silly thing to lie about anyways. “The ol’ noggin doesn’t really have an off button, and there’s always a lot to think about up here.” 

“Oh, I know what you mean. Sometimes when I’m stuck on a really hard mystery the clues just bounce around up there and I can’t get it to stop.”

“The tea helps,” she supplies. 

“It does. I like to reread an old book. That helps me.” 

Lucretia thinks on that for a moment. She used to be a lot like Angus. Head stuck up in a book near constantly, and when it wasn’t reading it was writing

Then again, Angus is so…  _ confident.  _ Maybe not with himself, but with his ideas. He does the investigation work himself, makes good conclusions, and  _ sticks  _ to them. Even if that means chasing down the answers himself. It took her much,  _ much,  _ longer to learn that lesson herself. 

When was the last time she read a book anyways?

“Ma’am? Are you alright?”

“Sorry, yes. Just thinking. It's been a very long time since I’ve read for fun.” 

Angus hums understandingly. “Well there’s only two relics left. When we’re done you’ll have all the time in the world to read.”

She looks away guiltily and immediately corrects the gesture, but it’s too late. Stopping the sun from rising would be easier than hiding something from Angus McDonald. 

“I’m open to suggestions when the time comes. What are you reading?”

He lights up at this. “It’s a book Merle got me!” He pauses and considers for a moment before correcting. “Well,  _ technically  _ Magnus gave it to me but it was actually Merle’s gift. I, uh, guess he didn’t want to be seen giving me anything. But Magnus said Merle used to read this book all the time when he was a kid!” 

It’s thick and stained, the spine cracked in many places telling of its age. She recognizes it, vaguely, as a fixture of Merle’s nightstand on the Starblaster. She thinks she read it once, but the memory is fuzzy. 

“It’s about a group of adventurers who are sent on a bunch of quests by Pan. There are ten sections and each one is a different quest that you can enjoy on its own, but they all have a shared storyline when you read them all together. I really like it.”

“Sounds exciting.”

“It is!” Angus picks up the book and puts it down, but seems to think better of it. He opens it up to the dog eared page and nervously glances at it up and down. “Uh. I can read some of it, if you want.” He sputters. “Um. Sorry. Is that, uh, weird?”

She blinks blankly. Not quite what she was expecting tonight, but it sounds… nice, actually. “Not at all. Please do.”

And he does. Hesitantly at first, all stutters and mumbles, but as he works into it his confidence grows. It seems like he was only a few pages into the chapter, and it’s easy for her to fill in the blanks. Every once in a while, he stops to share tidbits of folklore from followers of Pan that slot into the story, and Lucretia finds herself actually  _ invested  _ in how it ends. While his reading is unsure, the words are steady and calming, and by the end of it her mind has gone quiet with the finality of it. 

Angus closes the book and gapes his mouth in a huge yawn. By now, their cups are empty, still clutched in their hands to keep the wind from sending them off.

“That was nice. Thank you, Angus.” 

“Thank  _ you _ , ma’am,” he says through his yawn. “The tea was very good.”

She lets herself bask in the easy comfort of loving and being loved, if only for a moment.

“I think it’s time we get to bed, young man.”

“Yes ma’am.” He stretches as he pulls himself up on his feet. “Goodnight, Miss Director.”

“Goodnight, Angus.”


End file.
